


Interlude

by CaraAkame



Series: Where Life Has Led You [6]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-30 23:44:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8554372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaraAkame/pseuds/CaraAkame
Summary: Ed is struggling through his thesis paper.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this may or may not have been born due to my own sleep deprived, stressed mind stuck on a thesis paper.  
> This is unbeta'd.  
> This was not planned.  
> This is the only thing I will post (probably) before Christmas. My last deadline is on December 19th, so maybe there's a Christmas update in it for you. After that I am all yours and will finally get to writing the whole business around the coup and whatnot.  
> Bear with me until then, please!
> 
> EDIT: I'm a liar, I'm sorry I haven't updated! I will most likely update this as part of the Big Bang, so August probably. I ran out of motivation to write for some reason, but I'll get back into it eventually. Drafts for FMA BB are due on the 13th of July, so I kinda HAVE to get into it now xD I'll try to update more this summer!

Ed is stressed. He usually isn’t, even though he works multiple jobs and has his own studies to attend to. He also doesn’t normally get so stressed before handing in his thesis for evaluation. Ed _knows_ his ideas are good. They have to give him his PhD.

The problem is that now he also knows that there is more going on in this country that Roy hasn’t gotten around telling him yet. He also has to fit the General and the Hughes into his schedule, which is new.

He has one month left to complete his thesis. He knows what he wants in there, but writing it is an entirely different matter. He’s never been particularly good at writing and it shows. That’s the only criticism he ever gets on his papers. ‘ _Dr. Elric, your points are brilliant and you’ve obviously done your research, but your writing needs work. Nobody who isn’t extremely well read in this subject will understand what you’re telling them. Hell, I’ve been studying this field for a decade and didn’t understand some of it. You need to use words that can be understood by the average Alchemist. You switch between talking circles around everyone and using colloquial language that has no place in a thesis. And for God’s sake, Ed, don’t curse in a thesis._ ’

He gets that comment every time. So far they said it doesn’t _really_ matter in the sense that he can still get his PhD, but they can’t publish it until he rewrites the entire thing. Ed does _not_ have time to rewrite this thesis. He really doesn’t.

“Brother? What are you doing up? I thought the point of cutting your hours at the hospital is to get some sleep so you can use your brain properly to write your thesis.”, Alphonse says when he walks into the apartment at 5:30am, finding Ed sitting with his head in his hands staring at his notes.

“Al! Is it so late already? I can’t sleep. I’ve got all my theories swimming in my head and somehow can’t make my brain shut up. Why did I insist on doing two PhD’s at once?”, Ed replies. He always does two simultaneously, it saves time and he can think about two things at once. But this time he has to think about a lot more. The whole conspiracy for one thing, even though he has nowhere near enough data to have a theory. Roy, who somehow managed to worm his way into Ed’s mind even though they didn’t actually do anything other than talk, but all he can think about is the things they _could_ have done. His students and the duel. Many, many things.

“Go to bed, Ed. You need to sleep. You won’t get anywhere. Caffeine can’t keep you going forever, and you know it.”, Al tells him and he’s right. They’ve been through this. Ed tried with his first thesis and ended up writing nonsense before Al ordered him to bed.

Sighing heavily, Ed stands up and lets Al lead him up the stairs.

Once he’s in bed, he gets fidgety. He rolls from side to side, trying to get comfortable, but nothing is. He ends up on his back, staring at the ceiling. There’s a tiny crack there that needs mending, and while that would be the easiest thing ever, Ed’s never done it. He likes to stare at it while contemplating the meaning of life and all that.

He does that until the sun comes up, listening to the clock in his bedroom ticking away the seconds. It’s 7am and he’s still not asleep. Frustrated and more than a little bit grumpy, he starts counting the seconds. Somewhere around three-thousand-four-hundred-sixty-two he finally falls asleep, only to have a nightmare about his transmuted mother telling him he couldn’t remake her because he couldn’t even write a proper paper. Waking up at 10am in a cold sweat, he gives up and heads back downstairs to be greeted by the wonderful sight of Roy Mustang standing in his kitchen, making breakfast and a cup of coffee already standing on the table at his usual seat.

“You’re perfect, Roy Mustang. Truly and utterly perfect. I think I love you.”, Ed says, still half asleep and not caring if that wasn’t exactly what he should be saying.

“Good morning, Ed.”, Roy replies, chuckling, ignoring Ed’s comment completely. Maybe he didn’t hear him. Maybe he didn’t even say it out loud. After taking a sip of his coffee and slowly waking up he _really_ hopes Mustang didn’t hear him.


End file.
